young adult cancer canada

Let’s go to the movies

September 29, 2011

Have you heard about 50/50? It’s a film coming out on September 30, 2011 starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen and written by Rogen’s real-life friend, Will Reiser, about what he experienced when he was diagnosed with cancer in his 20s.

It’s funny, poignant, and (most of all) a great catalyst for making people aware of the issues young adults face when they are diagnosed with cancer. The trailer alone touches on diagnosis, dating, independence, acceptance, hair loss, and more, so we’re coordinating the Give Or Get campaign, a huge initiative where young adult cancer survivors all over Canada can get a free ticket to see the movie, and supporters can buy tickets to help us reach even more people.

This movie is going to help spread awareness of the issues young adults face when they are diagnosed with cancer. But that’s not enough for us; we want to build a community and show just how connected we are. So we’re all going to go together, kind of.

We’re going to ask everyone to come out to a show in your town on October 5, 2011. We’ll send you a more specific email when the showtimes and locations are posted by the theatres. Have a look below to see where we have organized events so far:

Vancouver

Edmonton

Calgary

Winnipeg

London

Toronto

Montreal

Bridgewater

Halifax

St. John’s

If there’s not an event scheduled for your area, we will still buy you a ticket for your nearest theatre. If you want to tell your cancer buddies about it, we’ll buy tickets for them as well.

Help spread the word

Please tell your other young adult cancer survivors about the event through Facebook, support groups, your health professionals, etc. Imagine, watching a movie by someone who gets it while surrounded by people who get it. That’s going to be a cool experience.

After the movie, you can hang out for a bit with some awesome people at a predetermined location–some you’ll know, and some will be brand new. We’ll all debrief on how the movie related to the real-life experiences of those in the group, and you’ll be on hand to help tell the new people about YACC and the programs we offer, or that you’ve attended.

If you can’t make the movie but still want to get together that evening, you’re more than welcome to join! We’ll also send out those details once they’re available.